


The Finish Line- on hiatus

by luxillume



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Isle of Mann TT, Missing Persons, Motorcycle Racing, Non-Explicit Sex, Sex, Superbikes, blatent disregard of the racing points system, mentions of human trafficking, mild violence, tags and rating will change with updates.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-12-02 18:09:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11514696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxillume/pseuds/luxillume
Summary: Rey is one of the top Superbike racers in the country, with a new sponsorship from Organa Racing and a record-breaking race coming up.  When Kylo Ren of rival First Order Racing steps in, will she lose it all?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Taken down, but reposted by request. 
> 
> Come talk to me...I'm fatalfascination on tumblr. :D Comments and likes are life, it lets me know someone is actually out there and I'm not just screaming into the writing void.

Rey put her hand up to cut the sun’s glare as she watched Snap park the trailer in its slot at the track and beamed at the new Organa Racing logo splashed across the side. Poe and Finn pulled up in Poe's little truck beside it and jumped out, coming to stand beside her. 

Finn put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You made it!”

“We...we made it,” she corrected.

She couldn't stop smiling. She'd worked long and hard to earn respect on the track and to finally have a big corporate racing sponsor was something she'd only ever dreamed of. On top of that, to have that sponsor be Organa, which was a subsidiary of the largest racing corporation ever, Skywalker Industries was mind-blowing. After the contracts had been signed, the media had exploded with articles about her journey from building a bike from spare parts scrounged from Plutt's junkyard as a homeless teen to being one of the top superbike competitors. Rey had multiple copies of the first magazine she'd appeared in, MotoRacing, and kept clippings from that article up on the wall of her trailer for luck.

In her mid-teens, she'd gotten a job at Poe's bike shop during the week, and started racing on the weekends. She'd made a name for herself on the local tracks, and that's where she and Poe had met Finn and added him to their tiny team. He'd actually worked for a competitor, but Poe had caught him as he'd quit and was about to storm off the track and offered him a position. With a talent for public relations, Finn had quickly taken to a management role and handled all of her press. Soon after that, she was dominating on the national tracks as well, and if she won the race today, it would be her ninth consecutive win and close to setting an industry record. There were racers who won consecutive seasons, but few who won consecutive races.

The CEO of her sponsor, Leia Organa, had offered Rey a full crew as well as the new transportation, and she watched as Snap and Wedge started to unload the trailer. Poe knew them from around the shop and she'd met them a few times at Poe's regular weekly BBQ. And Rey was glad they fit right into their strange little group. Gavin and Myn had come with the sponsorship, and so far they were fitting in as well. Within what seemed like minutes, a tent-like structure with Organa's logo on it was erected against the side of the trailer, a floor made of rubber mats laid down, a couple sets of tables and chairs set up. Her roommate Jessika showed up with lunch and a cooler filled with mostly water but a few mandatory beers for Poe was brought in.

Inside the trailer, Poe put her orange and white Yamaha BB8 model bike up on the stand and started the standard mechanical pre-race checklist while she and Jessika walked the track. Rey always walked the track if time permitted, to get a feel of the asphalt and the slope of the turns and even the wind. In the makeshift office that was also erected, Finn handled business, fielding requests for interviews and making sure everyone was on schedule.

After he was done with his own checklist for the bike, Poe turned the mechanics over to Wedge and Myn so he could walk the lot. Much in the same way Rey walked the track to get a feel for it, Poe liked to walk the lot to see who was there, what was going on, what the mood was for the day. Most of the time it was the usual flurry of pre-race activities, the sound of wrenches clanking and the smell of motor oil and tire rubber, but today had a particularly tense feeling and as he got to the opposite end of the lot, he quickly realized why.

The First Order crew was there, with multiple semis and accompanying RVs with the same red and black logo. He didn't have to look to know the trailer would be filled with more top of the line bikes and crew than any one team could ever possibly need. He watched for a few minutes while crew members, all in the same ridiculous stark white uniform, buzzed around like bees to set up a massive rider/crew lounge. 

The open backs to their semis were curtained off, keeping most of their crew, equipment and riders hidden until race time. Poe was 99.9% sure if he barged through one of those curtains he would find some illegal behavior going on, either a bike mod or paying off an official or something. They'd come out of what seemed like nowhere, with more big-name sponsors than a no-name team should have, and that set off red flags for Poe. Finn had worked for them briefly before Poe and Rey had met him the day he quit, and he didn't have much good to say about them either, or their apparently very physical methods of keeping their crew in line. Poe blamed that on their main rider, Kylo Ren. He'd had one too many run-ins with him to not be wary of the entire organization.

Poe also understood that Organa Racing was a direct competitor of First Order, and by Rey gaining the sponsorship, it had likely put her in their cross hairs, and they were ruthless with their competition. It worried him because as much as Rey was tough and street smart in some ways, she was naive in others and he didn't want to see anyone come between her and the goals he knew she could achieve.

When he got back, Finn didn't have to do more than look at his face to guess what was going on. “They're here, aren't they?” he asked glumly.

Poe nodded. “Yeah, buddy.”

The two of them looked at each other—they'd both known what they were getting into when Rey signed on with Organa, even if she had no idea. They could only protect her for so long before she should be told. 

Poe trudged his way up the ramp where Rey was wiggling into her leathers. “Hey kid, I gotta talk to you real quick.”

“What's up?”

“First Order is here. Whoever they have riding, I want you to watch out for them, okay?”

Rey nodded. She didn't know all the details, but she knew both Poe and Finn had prior interactions with the First order team that hadn't ended well. Some of the rest of the crew didn't seem too fond of them either. She wanted to believe it was just racing, just the simple act of getting on a bike and driving fast, but she knew corruption happened everywhere and could happen to anyone. Poe wasn't an idiot and wasn't prone to disliking many people, so if he was wary of them, she would be too.

“Here's the thing. F.O and Skywalker Industries don't get along. They ignored you before, but you getting Organa's support is going to put you on their radar and I can't guarantee they'll play nice...or clean.”

Rey's face scrunched into what he recognized was her determined “bring it” face and he clapped her on the shoulder. “I know you're tough but just watch out, okay?”

“Got it.”

She finished tying her shoes and zipped her leathers. It was time.

She'd drawn pole position and Jessika, Myn and Finn stood around her holding an umbrella to shield her from the sun while they waited for the other nineteen riders to get into position behind her. She worked her gloves on, humming to herself. This was where most riders got nervous, but this was where Rey found herself floating in a focused, almost meditative state. She heard a bike revving just behind her and turned to see a black and red hayabusa in third position with a tall rider in all black leathers devoid of the usual sponsor logos. The only other color on him was the chrome accents near his matte-black visor that no one had ever seen him lift. Kylo Ren never did any press outside of photos, which he always took with his visor down. Whenever questions were put to him, a stiff-postured redhead named Hux answered for him. He was rarely seen until just before the race, and never stayed afterwards, even if he'd won or come in at a respectable position.

He was staring at her, and she pointedly sniffed and turned away although she could still feel the weight of his stare settle between her shoulders. 

Poe grimaced after following her line of sight. “Especially look out for that one. He's dangerous,” he said, barely a growl.

He'd been hoping it would be their other rider Phasma today, but her mostly chromed out bike was nowhere to be seen. Although she cut as nearly an imposing figure as Ren, she was easier to deal with. 

Though it was only the third time she'd raced with Kylo Ren, she'd already noted him for his reckless riding style, one she would almost peg as coming from stunt rider roots. He was dangerous, sometimes cutting people off, forcing them to brake to avoid collisions, driving them into wide turns. It was obnoxious and arrogant and she was not going to give him any of her attention. Her main objective was to get as far out ahead of him as possible and stay there, let the riders further back deal with him until he disqualified himself with some inevitably stupid move. She just hoped that disqualification didn't result in someone else’s death, too.

The red flag came up and her crew stepped to the sidelines as the revving of the bikes grew louder. Rey flipped her visor down, gave her bike a habitual pat, and shot off with the green light. Everything behind her fell away as she raced down the straightaway, then leaned into the first turn, the slider on her knee hitting tarmac with the lean. A couple of turns in and she was in her zen place—she loved the speed, the pulsing of the engine between her thighs, the smell of the leathers more than anything. 

For the first eight laps she was on her own and in the lead, and then she saw that damn hayabusa out of the corner of her eye. He was pacing her, and that happened for another few laps before he actively started cutting into her turn space, forcing her to go wider and to lose position or else clip tires. It was a fight from there on, and she became very aware that he was choosing to stay with her, instead of taking the opening he kept creating to take the lead. It was harassment, and she had had enough. She made a risky decision and accelerated earlier than she usually would have through the last turn. As she threw her body weight to the other side to right the bike, the front end lifted up off the track, the back tire shimmied dangerously for just a second, and then she flew past him down the straightaway and across the finish line.

She let off the throttle immediately, her heart hammering in her chest. Shimmies turned into wobbles and wobbles turned into crashes, and she was lucky. When she pulled into the winner’s position, her hands were still shaking but she stuffed that down when she saw the elated smiles of Jessika and Finn and Poe. 

She won, and that's what mattered. 

Cameras and recorders were shoved at her, and she did her post-race interviews with a smile.

\--

Afterwards, she helped her crew pack everything up, finding the dismantling process helped her wind down from the race. It was harder this time, her mind still on the race and the irritation of having to deal with a competitor that apparently had the professionalism of children. Once the tents were down and BB8 packed into the trailer, Wedge clapped her on the back. “You gotta let us take you out after a win like that.”

Rey groaned. Usually a win left her in a great mood, but not today. “How about you hold on to that for when I break the record?”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Poe pause where he was putting his tools away and knew he was listening to the conversation.

“Aww, okay. You got it.”

As soon as Wedge walked away, Poe called from his work bench. “You okay?”

Rey pursed her lips and nodded, then realized he couldn’t see with his back turned to her. “Yeah. I’m alright.”

The clanking of tools stopped for a second, and she could almost hear the wheels turning in his head as he analyzed her tone. If he heard anything to the contrary, he didn’t say anything.

When everything was packed away and the trailer locked up and on it’s way back to the Organa warehouse, everyone exchanged hugs or claps on the back and the crew dispersed, Rey got in Jessika’s car and they drove back to the house they shared.

The house was a small two bedroom with a front porch and a decent sized back yard where they held semi-weekly bbqs. The house was filled with mismatched furniture salvaged from yard sales and craigslist ads, and because there were always people over, it was never completely clean. It was cluttered with their various knick-knacks and piles of books and magazines. Jessika had the master bedroom, which Rey didn’t mind. After spending so much time on the streets, the small second bedroom was perfect. It held a twin size bed, a lumpy chair and an old tv on a dresser. Finn had built her a shelf that was covered in trophies and ribbons. With her winnings, she could have afforded her own apartment, but she found the idea of being on her own again unappealing and refused. Besides, Jessika made the best roommate Rey could hope for.

Rey showered, changed into a t-shirt and sweats, and plopped herself down on the couch. Jessika fished some cold pizza out of the fridge and they settled in to catch up on Netflix. 

Rey found herself unable to concentrate, her focus continually pulled back to Kylo Ren and what Poe had said about the First Order. It was still bothering her the next day. It was rare for anyone to be able to get under her skin for anything, but she kept replaying the race and gritting her teeth at the way Kylo Ren had been blatantly harassing her. Did that even happen outside of cheesy movies? Did she really have to deal with a bunch of grade-school tactics every time they were in the same race? Would she have to look out for strategic oil spills or pianos falling from the sky? How far would someone with crooked tactics go?

She wondered if it was a good idea to have security at the tent to watch the bikes, then shook her head. No, one of the crew was always around and she would not be paranoid. 

Jess went off to class and Rey did her usual workout. She ran some errands and came home to a note from Jess that it was her and Finn’s date night and she wouldn’t be home until later. It wasn’t until Rey tried to get some reading done and failed that she finally picked up her phone and dialed Poe’s number.

When he picked up, she could hear the sounds of the shop in the background. “Hey kid, what’s up?”

“Hey, are you doing anything after you close?”

The sounds in the background grew muffled as Poe put the receiver against his shoulder and yelled at someone, and Rey chewed her thumbnail until he came back on the line. “I gotta be somewhere at 9, but I’ve got time after the shop closes.”

Poe rarely sat still. If he wasn’t at the shop or the track, he was usually at the gym or taking up some new hobby. Lately it had been flying, and he spent a lot of his free time out at the air strip, although that was usually on the weekends he didn’t have to be at the track.

“Could you meet me at Chalmun’s at like, 7?”

Rey was not a drinker and rarely went out to bars in the time he’d known her. She’d been around too many addicts in her early homeless years to be interested in partying. The most he’d seen her drink was a shot or two, maybe a few watery beers during their bbq’s, so he knew her request to meet him at a bar wasn’t to drink.

“Sure, kid. I’ll see you then.”

Rey smeared on a little bit of eyeshadow and some lipstick and then threw on a purple knee-length skirt and black tanktop with a pair of heels and called a cab. She would usually take her street bike, but skirts and heels weren’t riding apparel and she hadn’t bothered to buy a car. The idea of owning little things was something she was just getting used to; big things like cars and houses would take time. She used her bike for everything, and the times when she couldn’t use it, Jessika was almost always there to lend her the car. She could have asked Poe to come get her and she knew he would, but he was already taking time out of his night for her on top of the time he spent at the track and her events.

Chalmun’s was a dive that had undergone a remodel and for a while had been one of the trendiest clubs in the city. Enough time had passed that the trendy crowd had moved on to the newer clubs, leaving a good chance of finding an open seat and that the pounding club music had been replaced with a softer music selection that one didn’t have to shout over to be heard. The crowd had become less strictly collegiate and millennials and more the regular mix of professionals, hipsters, and middle-class. 

Out of habit, her eyes scanned the parking lot. Sometimes those professionals drove nice cars that she liked to check out. She wasn’t disappointed, her eyebrows lifted as her gaze landed on the black Lambo parked out front. High end cars were common, exotics were rare. 

That was where Poe found her after he parked on the side, and he nudged her with a wink. “Ten bucks says we can spot the owner.”

“Another ten says he’s a total douche,” she answered as he held the door open for her.

They sat at the tall white acrylic top bar and Rey ordered a wine spritzer while Poe got his signature Rusty Nail. 

Rey plunked down a twenty before Poe could grab his wallet like she knew he would. “Nope, on me this time.”

They made comfortable small talk about the shop for a while before Poe fixed her with a knowing look. “So, what’s on your mind, kid?”

“What do you know about Kylo Ren?” she asked.

Poe gave her that look she’d come to both hate and love, the one that said he saw right through her. She hated to think she could be so transparent but loved that someone knew her well enough, had been in her life long enough to have such a keen sense of her feelings. “He got to you, didn’t he?”

Rey opened her mouth to object, and stopped. To say otherwise would be a lie, and he would know it as surely as she did. “I need to know exactly what kind of a problem he’s going to be. You and Finn are the only people I know who seem to know anything about him or the First Order besides what their publicity team want people to know...” She dropped her voice, feeling a little guilty for asking him. “I know it’s not your favorite subject, so you don’t have to answer.”

Poe nodded and drummed his fingers against his glass. He’d already given her a warning and he could have left it at that, but Poe didn’t really have it in his heart to keep anything from her. Since he’d offered her the job in his shop to get her off the streets, Poe had thought of Rey like his little sister and he’d tried to protect her as such, but she’d come to him tough and she always would be. “Years ago Skywalker Industries was building the R2-D2. I was working for Organa at the time and she gave me the flash drive that had the plans and specs on it to get to her brother. The First Order found out and tried to take it. Ren and I…” he trailed off and gave a wry smile, “Had a confrontation outside of a bar.”

Poe was no stranger to fights. His enthusiastic and stubborn nature had led to plenty of them, some of which Rey had smooth-talked him out of. She knew Poe had known Organa, but he’d never told her that he’d worked for her, or that he’d known Luke Skywalker. On top of that, the fact that he’d had his fingers on the design responsible for the fastest superbikes to date had her eyebrows raising to comical heights. Rey had almost been in possession of an R2-D2 but a year before she’d signed on with Organa, the AMRA had tightened regulations for modifications and they’d been banned from the track. 

Rey quickly cycled through the new information, tamping down on her excitement and filing questions about that away for later. “And what happened?”

“He beat the crap out of me while Phasma watched.” Poe gave the characteristic smirk that betrayed the presence of his boundless sense of humor. “I never thought Leia’s son would fight so dirty.”

It took Rey a second to process what he’d said, and she nearly dropped her spritzer as she went to set it back on the bar. She grabbed a couple napkins from the caddy and wiped up the spill.

“Her son?” she stammered.

A wave of revulsion swept through her that someone would turn on their own family, hurt people to try to steal from them? Who treated their mother and father that way? A spiteful, ungrateful brat? She didn’t know Leia Organa very well, but from the interactions she’d had with her, she couldn’t imagine she’d done anything worth splitting a family over. Rey knew better than most that looks could be deceiving and pretty much any family had their own issues but it made her head hurt trying to make sense of it.

“He went straight to her competition and became a top rider.”

“What an ass!”

“You have no idea. That’s just the beginning of it.”

“No wonder you guys don’t like them.”

“It’s up to Finn to tell you his experiences, but they aren’t a lot better than mine. I’m pretty sure they made his life hell.”

Poe could see the wheels turning in her head and realized the information he’d given her probably hadn’t done a thing to ease her mind that he’d in fact given her more to think about. He threw back the rest of the ice in his drink and chewed noisily for a second.

“I’m not gonna lie—he’s going to be a problem if he singles you out, but he doesn’t matter. None of them matter. You keep doing what you do, and we’ll deal with Ren if we have to, okay?” He flashed her one of his infamous charming grins and winked. It was distracting, as she knew it was meant to be.

“Deal,” she said.

Poe glanced at his watch. “I gotta run. You need a ride?” He stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of the barstool.

Rey shook her head. “No. I’m going to hang out for a bit, I think. Jess and Finn are doing date night so the house is too quiet.”

Poe let his gaze linger on her for a long moment before he ruffled her hair and she ducked out of it with a noise of half-hearted irritation.

“Call me if you need anything.” He waited until she gave him an affirmative nod before he slid his jacket on and headed out the door.

Rey ordered another drink and a water and glanced at her phone on the bar top. She sipped her drink as she unlocked the screen and brought up the internet app. Poe hadn’t given her his name, but it would be simple to do a Google search for Leia’s family to find out. She frowned at the spinning circle and dismal signal. 

She was in the middle of writing a reminder to herself for when she got home and had her laptop when a deep voice rumbled out from somewhere above and beside her in a tone that wasn’t exactly as friendly as the words spoken.

“Congratulations on your race.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rey swiveled on her stool and craned her neck back at the tall, broad figure leaning against the bar beside her. She blinked at him dumbly for a second, not used to being recognized off the track outside of industry events, and it always surprised her when she ran into someone who knew who she was. 

He was well over six feet tall, dressed in dark jeans and a soft-looking light grey sweater with the sleeves pushed up his thick forearms. His posture was casual, one elbow leaning on the bar, one leg bent so his ankles crossed, but the unapologetic way he occupied the space, the way he was turned to face her spoke of a different body language. He was attractive in an unusual way, face long and pale with a strong brow and aquiline nose that contrasted with a soft jawline and full lips. His thick dark hair touched his shoulders in the back, but it was his eyes that she found herself unable to look away from. Deep set and dark, he looked at her with a boldness that was almost aggressive for a first interaction.

“Uhm.. thank... you?” she said haltingly. She wasn’t sure it was actually supposed to be a compliment or if he just had a way of speaking that made everything sound like an insult.

He turned his head to order a beer from the bartender, and he indicated the seat next to her with a nod. “May I?”

Rey shrugged. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him next to her, but she was also not going to be rude for no reason. She was well aware of the high-n-mighty attitude of some of her peers in the industry and she made a conscious effort to never behave like that. She was human though and some of the male fans had proven themselves to be less than well-mannered company, particularly in bars. If he turned out to be a dick, she’d talk for a few minutes and leave. 

“It’s a free country,” she mumbled.

When he’d paid for his drink, he extended a large hand. “Ben,” he said. As he swiveled back to face the bar, he added, “You ride well. Lucky that move paid off.”

She felt her face heat up because there was clear approval there in his tone.

“One I shouldn’t have had to make, unfortunately,” she said. She was not a squid, and she didn’t enjoy being made to look like one because of a reckless jackass.  She changed the subject, careful to keep negative comments to a minimum so she wouldn’t go off on a rant to a total stranger.

“Do you ride as well?”

“For fun,” he answered.

Genuinely curious and willing to talk to almost anyone about her favorite hobby, Rey rested her elbow on the bar and turned toward him. “Oh? What bike?”

That was a subject Rey could go on about for hours, and she and Ben fell into a surprisingly easy conversation about their bikes, the initial tension and hint of hostility she’d detected when he first approached her ebbed away. It wasn’t often Rey found someone she could comfortably talk with for long periods of time. Her experiences were nothing like that of most people, and she found the nuances of small talk to be exhausting. She had long ago concluded people could talk an awful lot and still say absolutely nothing worth hearing. Ben proved to be different, and while she couldn’t call his style of communication overly friendly, he was refreshingly direct and lacked the proclivity toward inane chatter that usually drove her away from similar interactions. Their conversation strayed to other sports, hobbies, and even music, and before Rey realized it, she’d been talking to him for nearly two hours. He wasn’t quite like anyone she thought she’d met, but at the same time there was a vague familiarity to him that she just couldn’t place. She knew if she’d run into him around her circle she would have definitely remembered someone like him. He had a dry, sharp wit that surprised her multiple times and a way of watching her while she spoke that she’d never experienced. It was both disconcerting and flattering to feel like she had his complete and undivided attention.

“So how did you get into racing?”

Ben’s question came out of nowhere. They had been discussing the best local restaurants when he suddenly re-routed the question back to bikes and racing, a topic they had bypassed nearly forty minutes previous.

She eyed him, wondering why he was asking. Rey was pretty sure that answer was in every magazine article she’d ever been in, but not everyone was so into the sports that they read the mags. Deciding that his question contained legitimate curiosity, Rey gave him the tame, media-friendly rendition. “I used to run parts for a junkyard in Jakku. Hard to do without transportation. So I built a bike.” The grittier version of that story involved the car boosting ring she had been desperate to avoid, but she left that part out. She was fairly certain that ring was still running and had grown beyond cars as far as other illegal activity, and she wanted nothing to do with any of it. She’d walked away from Jakku and the more distance she kept from it, the better.  

His brow quirked when she mentioned building it herself. “Impressive. How’d a scavenger end up with Organa?” 

Rey jerked her head in his direction at the undertone of nastiness that came back with that question, but his face showed none of the coolness of his voice. Rey's grin faltered and she looked down at the ice in her glass, swirling it with the tiny straw. “I made a promise to a friend who thought I would be good at it and who thought I could use it to get out of the junkyard, and I started racing on the weekends and worked my way up. Organa approached me after the Laguna Seca win and offered me a contract.”

Ben actually snorted. Oh, he was one of  _ those,  _ the fan boys who thought they knew everything about the industry and had an opinion on what she should have done.

Rey rolled her eyes. “And my sponsorship is not up for debate,” she added with a smirk. He dropped it readily enough, and Rey changed the subject. “So what do you do, Ben?”

“Cars. Restorations and exotics.”

Rey’s eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me the Aventador out front is yours?”

Ben smirked before taking another drink. The flashy car was definitely outside of his tastes, but he’d won it for a week in a bet from Hux, and any chance to inconvenience and annoy his Press Manager was one he thoroughly enjoyed. “It is, temporarily.”

“Do the exotics live up to their hype?”

“Do you want to take a look?” he asked, amused by her excitement when her face lit up.

“Yes! I mean….if you don’t mind?”

Rey closed her tab and they wandered into the temperate night air.  He hit the fob in his pocket to deactivate the alarm and popped open the engine cover in the back for her. She ogled at the spotless engine compartment and the V-12 engine, hands hovering like a child unsure of reaching in the cookie jar after being given permission.

“Nice.”  Her eyes lingered on it in appreciation.

“Want to go for a ride?” he asked.

Rey shot him a guarded look. “Oh...I don’t know….”

“I promise, I’m not a serial killer.”

“That’s usually what serial killers say,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk and he shrugged.

Rey chewed her lip and thought about it. Common sense told her getting in a car with a total stranger was high on the list of stupid things she could do, but she’d done her share of stupid things at the junkyard and she was still around. He was big, and she was more than confident that she remembered enough self-defense moves from the junkyard days that she could at least disable him if she needed to, but those moves were severely hampered in enclosed spaces like cars. She did carry a knife that she kept in the zip pocket of her purse if she absolutely had no other choice, but it was better to not put herself in the situation in the first place. On the other hand, so far Ben hadn’t set off any of the red flags she had for potentially dangerous people, and she didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. She supposed she could rent one herself eventually, maybe the next time she was in L.A, but she wasn’t sure when that would be.  

Making up her mind, she pulled out her phone and walked around to the back, making it clear she was taking a picture of the FINLIZR personalized plate. She texted it to Jess.

_ ‘Don’t ask questions, but if I don’t text you in 30 min, call the cops. Give this plate.’ _

_ ‘W.T.F? Whose car is that?’ _

_ 'No questions!’ _

_ 'Be safe, dummy. I’ll wait 4 ur txt.’ _

As an added precaution, Rey wiped her messages so if Ben did try to steal her phone, he wouldn’t know who she’d sent it to. When she shoved her phone back in her bag and looked up, he’d opened the passenger door. She slid into the seat and he closed the door before he settled his large frame behind the wheel.

“You have 30 minutes,” she said, firmly.  

He nodded, and flipped the cover on the ignition switch in the center of the console. The car came to life with a roar and Ben quickly navigated toward the nearby hills, away from cluttered city traffic. He pushed through the winding roads with a practiced comfort and smooth reflexes, the car reaching speeds that probably would have terrified anyone else, but she was used to  _ fast  _ and his grip on the steering wheel stayed firm but relaxed. There was a silence between them that should have been uncomfortable but strangely wasn't, as he focused on the road and she divided her attention between the drive and furtive glances at him.

Her gaze settled on his big hands, how the wheel slid along his palms as he confidently took the turns, and she found herself suddenly curious about how those hands would feel on her. Was he rough with his partners or soft? The train of thought was new to her; for a long time she’d never really been close enough to anyone to be comfortable with a lot of physical contact and it hadn’t been until after she’d finally gotten used to Poe and Finn’s touchy nature that she’d realized what she’d been missing.

She could appreciate an attractive guy, but pursuing anyone was low on her priority list. She supposed it was a habit left over from her homeless days- — in the grand scheme of things, romance just wasn’t that important. There was a pretty big pool of single guys to choose from around the track, but Rey made it a point to stay away from coworkers. She was keenly aware that as a female in a male-dominated industry, her actions were under the microscope, and she wanted to continue to be known for her riding skills, not who she was dating or sleeping with. She also studiously avoided anything that would put her in the tabloids, although there was a small voice in the back of her mind that reminded her Ben wasn’t a coworker, and there was a good possibility no one would know who he was.

She had started out the ride wishing it was still light so she could see the scenery fly by, but now she was grateful for the dark that hid the blush that heated her cheeks. She put down her window so she could feel the cool breeze lift her hair, and if she closed her eyes it almost felt like flying. It was the same zen-like feeling she got when she was on her bike and time seemed to suspend itself as the world rushed by.

She snapped out of her musings when Ben pulled off onto an overlook and the car slid to a smooth stop. Rey glanced around at the otherwise deserted area and remembered with a jolt how far from the city they were. It wasn’t a great place to dump a body, considering during the day the highway was crowded with tourists and travelers and the overlooks were usually busy, but no one would be able to hear her if she screamed, regardless. The engine idled with a purr as he glanced over at her.

She stiffened instinctively and balled her right hand into a fist as he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to her. “Ben, what’re you--”

“My half hour is up. Your turn,” he said. He got out, strolling to the front of the car, where he waited. 

Rey had the chance to scramble across the console, shut his door and lock him out, if she chose to. Seconds ticked by before she slowly relaxed her hand. This wasn’t the junkyard; not everyone was dangerous.

“C’mon. Show me what you got,” he called to her.

She opened her door and swung her feet out. “Really?”

“Unless you don’t want to?” he goaded.

“I mean...would the owner be okay with it?”

Ben smirked, and the sardonic expression crossing his features was enough to make Rey wonder exactly how he felt towards the owner of the car. "He won't mind," Ben said with a slight huff of laughter.

“Oo...kay,” she said. She retrieved her phone to send Jess an update text as she walked around to the driver's side and Ben headed for her vacated seat.

_ ‘I’m fine, no cops necessary. Will explain later.’ _

_ ‘I hate u so much. Don’t do anything dumb.’ _ Jess replied.

They traded places and Rey adjusted the seat and the mirrors before slipping her shoes off. She didn’t drive enough to dare navigating a car that expensive in unstable heels. Ben leaned closer to her to show her the differences such as the shifter being a flat paddle behind the steering wheel instead of a knob on the console, and explained the different driving modes in his deep, mellow voice. Rey drove back down to the city at a slower pace, getting used to the way the car handled.

When they hit the longer straight stretches of road that marked the city’s street grid, Ben smirked at her. “Floor it.”

“What?”

“You can’t drive this car and not see how fast you can go.” His voice dropped into a conspiratory murmur. “You  _ know  _ fast. I know this road. So…go.” He nodded toward the open asphalt before them.

Rey grinned and her bare foot pressed the accelerator to the floorboard and the car lunged forward. Within fifteen seconds the car rocketed to just over two hundred miles per hour, and her smile was so big that her face hurt. The car would reach two- hundred-twenty but Rey hit the brakes to drop down to a more reasonable speed, her heart racing.

 

\--

By the time Rey pulled back into Chalmun’s, the parking lot was empty and the lights turned off.  She parked and after a moment of silence she turned to Ben, only to find him watching her in that strange way that was both intimidating and thrilling all at once. 

“This was  _ so  _ fun. Thank you.”

He made a noncommittal humming noise and opened his door. Rey bit her lip and undid her seatbelt, wondering if she’d done something to upset him, or if he was just in hurry to get her out of his car. Maybe he had a girlfriend he needed to get home to…

She was startled when he came around and opened her door. She cleared her throat and jumped out, nearly crashing into him with how close he was standing. He reached out, his hands settling on her hips.

She had a moment to think  _ Oh,  _ that’s _ what they feel like, _ before she let out a surprised yelp as he picked her up and set her on the hood of the car, retreating before she could react. He ducked into the car and came out with her shoes, holding them out to her.

“You’ll get your feet dirty,” he said, and she heard a hint of amusement in his voice as she took them from him and slipped them on. She was about to jump down when his arms settled on either side of her, caging her in. His eyes scanned over her in a way that left no question as to his interest.  

“Rey,” he said softly, “I’m not ready for this to be over. Come home with me.”

There was an unfamiliar feeling curling in her gut, mixing with the adrenaline; something that also felt like flying when she surprised herself with her response.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I'm going to try to update regularly, but I work full time and I've got two other long fics that are competing for room in my head and the chance to get put into words, so they may be delayed.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben’s gaze became predatory as he scanned her up and down and he leaned in close to her ear, his broad body crowding her field of vision. 

“Get in.” He said, his voice a low rumble she swore she felt down to her toes.

A stranger, with his body language and sure words should have given her pause, but it didn’t. She didn’t feel threatened or pushed, she felt almost playfully challenged, and it ignited her competitive side. 

He moved back enough to allow her to slide off the hood, dark eyes tracking her movement as she walked back to the passenger side before he dropped himself behind the wheel and pulled out of the parking lot.

As he navigated through the traffic, Rey wondered at her impulsiveness. Following her instinct while on the streets had mainly kept her to herself to survive, but that only led to loneliness. She had one or two relationships that had led to a few hurried, unsatisfying encounters in the back of abandoned cars. It wasn’t really sex that was driving her now, but a heady sense of being able to make her own decisions. This wasn’t something that was happening to her, it was something she chose to make happen. 

Sure, she had her rules, but for the first time in a long time, she found herself willing to bend those rules. Things were different now, her life was different now, and the reasons for those rules didn’t always apply anymore. Ben was attractive, and there was something about him that she just couldn’t put her thumb on that made her scavenger mind want to pick him over and see what she could find. If she had a little fun while she was at it, then, she wasn’t going to resent her choice, no matter how short their encounter might be. 

He turned into the underground parking garage of one of the cities newer factory-turned-apartment buildings and punching in a code. He parked next to a late 60’s black Camaro and as he opened her door for her, he reached over and wiped a smudge of dirt from the Camaro's side mirror. 

“Working on that one too?” she asked. 

“This one is mine.” 

Rey wasn’t surprised, a gearhead was a gearhead and most of the people around her had multiple toys. Poe had planes and dirtbikes, Finn had jet skis, most of the guys on her crew had project cars or bikes. Rey paused to look over the Camaro with the same appreciation she’d shown for the Lambo, and Ben watched her for a second before he reached over and took her hand to lead her to the bank of elevators. 

He let the doors close but instead of pressing a button for this floor, he slowly backed her against the cool faux wood paneling of the wall. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers sliding under her jaw and tipping her chin up to him. His eyes searched hers as he leaned in and kissed her, his plush lips pressing warm and light against hers. It was more chaste than she’d expected, but something warm bloomed in her chest and spread through her veins at the contact. 

The back of his finger softly traced her jawline and she sluggishly realized he was waiting for her reaction, for permission. 

“Do that again.” she sighed.

“Yeah?” The corner of his mouth twitched up in the beginning of an amused smirk and she nodded, leaning forward to meet him as he kissed her again. She momentarily forgot her nervousness as she remembered how good kissing felt, and Ben was good. He kept his kisses soft so that if she wanted more pressure she had to lean into him, his tongue barely brushing against hers, leaving just a hint of the taste of him. When he pulled away as the doors dinged open, she was left flushed and a little breathless, not even noticing when he hit the button in the first place. His large hand settled in the small of her back to guide her down the hall to his door. 

His apartment was surprisingly bare, with large open spaces and bare ductwork along the high ceilings. The modern minimalist decor and black and white colors only emphasized the lack of personal clutter. There were no pictures, no knick-knacks, no paintings that spoke of the individual that lived there. Rey would have suspected he had just moved in, but there were no boxes that indicated the bare-bones interior was anything other than deliberate. He left her standing in the entryway while he flicked on lights and headed for the kitchen to the left. He took down two glasses from the cabinet and set them on the black granite counter, pouring whiskey for himself. 

Rey wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling wall of windows that was the main feature of his sparsely furnished living room. His footsteps behind her announced his presence and she turned to eagerly accept the glass he offered. A little liquid courage might help with her nerves. If nothing else, it gave her something to do with her hands.

“All I have is Cabernet.” 

“Oh, that’s fine.This is a great view,” she said as she turned back to the window. 

“It’s the main reason I got the place,” he said. “You’re not in one of the loft buildings?”

“No. My roommate and I have a rental in Uscru Park.” 

They stood in companionable silence for a few moments staring out at the twinkling lights of the city and the cars passing on the street below before he found his gaze drifting back to her. She heard the clink of his glass being set down, and then the heat of his body against her back as he stepped up against her. His fingers caressed gently up and down her arms, raising goosebumps along her skin. He swept her hair aside and bent down to kiss her neck, and Rey took a quick drink to hide the whimper that slid out of her mouth even as she found herself instinctively tilting her head to give him easier access. 

Ben accepted the invitation with a gentle bite as he slid his hands to seize her hips and bring her tighter against him with a gentle jerk. Rey groaned and set the glass down before she dropped it, her head rolling back against his shoulder as his hot tongue licked a stripe from her shoulder to the pulse point beneath her ear. 

The heat thrumming through her veins pooled low in her belly with a steady pressure. Her body burned where Ben's pressed against her back and thighs, and she could feel the hard nudge of his arousal against her ass. 

“Hands on the glass.” he murmured, the reverberation in his chest rumbling against her back. 

She opened her eyes; she should object, anyone could see them if they just looked up, and she wasn’t an exhibitionist, but the soft command jerked at things low in her body and the hand spanning across her back gently guided her forward and her palms settled against the cool smooth glass. 

His tall body curved over hers as his hands slid down her sides slowly. His movements were unhurried and sure, each part of her that he touched suffused with a lingering heat. He gripped her hips before his fingertips slid around the waistband of her skirt. Here, he paused, and that low voice was against her ear.

“Yes?” 

She nodded, voice caught thickly in her throat. His fingers slid under the fabric, trailing down over the blue cotton of her underwear. He just palmed her at first, the heat of his hand pressing between her legs, rocking against her. When he felt the fabric dampening, he sought out the more sensitive skin at the apex of her thighs and circled, each pass sending the pressure curling in her abdomen higher and higher. His free hand cupped her breast over her shirt, his large palm easily covering the soft flesh. She moaned softly, fingers curling against the glass before she reached back and grasped a handful of his thick hair. 

Cool air brushed against her as his hot hand slid under the waistband of her underwear and touched her bare sex, his fingers resuming the pattern. She was slick and the pads of his fingers slid against her with an audible sound that should be embarrassing but she was beyond caring as she inched her feet apart further and pushed her ass back against him. With the slightly new angle, it took one, two, three more circles and the tension snapped. Rey came with a cry, her body shuddering in his grasp as her knees wobbled and she pressed forward against the glass, now glad for the cool surface.

She was aware of nothing for the next few minutes; only the rapid thud of her heart in her chest, her race to catch her breath, and the continued spasms of her body against the hand that still pressed against her sex. Ben held her securely against him the entire time, trailing relentless kisses along her neck and shoulder. When he finally removed his hand, his fingers were slick, and a fierce blush stole across her cheeks as he slid those fingers into his mouth. 

“Come on,” he rumbled, his eyes falling on her like something he wanted to devour.

She must have taken a second too long to respond because he bent down and swept her up against his chest as if she weighed nothing, turning on the spot and heading toward another part of the apartment. Rey let out a surprised yelp that turned into a giggle as she looped her arms around his neck.

Behind a floor-to-ceiling wall divider was a bedroom, decorated in the same black and white as the rest of the apartment and containing only the king sized bed, two nightstands, and a chair. The bedroom shared the wall of windows from the main room, only these are curtained off by black drapes. 

He set her on the bed, then stepped back to pull his sweater over his head. He dropped it on the floor, and it was the first sign Rey had seen that someone actually lived there. She pulled her eyes up from the sweater to the pale expanse of skin he’d revealed, her heart thumping at the broad sculpted chest and the ripple of muscles down his abdomen. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the v of his hips and the thin trail of hair that disappeared into his jeans. He knelt down in front of her and propped her left foot on his thigh and started working on the thin straps of her shoe. 

“Ben, wait.” she said, sitting up. 

His large hand stilled, warm and solid on her ankle. His eyes searched hers, taking in the blush high on her cheeks before he sat back on his heels.

“What’s wrong?” 

Rey took a deep breath. 

“I just….I don’t...do this.” she explained nervously. She waved her hand around to indicate them, the bedroom. 

“You don’t have to do anything,” he said simply. Leaning forward, he eased the bulk of his body between her knees. “I can take you home right now.” 

His hands settled lightly on her knees and slid up her thighs slowly as he leaned even further into her space, never pulling his eyes from hers. When his hands hit the fabric of her skirt, he pushed it up. His lips met hers, soft and unhurried.

“But I don’t think that’s what you want.” 

His lips traveled down her jaw and against her neck. She whimpered, her hands gripping first his broad shoulders and then sliding into his dark hair as his thumbs slid toward her inner thighs.

“Is that what you want?” He nibbled along the slope of her shoulder.

“No.” She sighed. At that moment she wanted his brawny body enveloping hers, she wanted the slide of his hair over her fingers, the slight whiskey-tinged taste of his mouth. 

Ben kissed her again and it was not the soft, gentle kiss he had teased her with in the elevator or eased her with moments before. It was deep and dirty and he tasted like whiskey and something sweet when his tongue slid against hers as he pressed her down against the cool sheets.

“I don’t want that either.” He murmured hotly against the curve of her jaw. 

 

\-----------------------

Rey sighed, reluctant to open her eyes, but she'd always been an early riser even if her body disagreed. There was enough light behind the veil of her eyelids that she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, but it didn't mean she wouldn't still try. She dragged the sheet up to pull it over her head, only for it to get caught on something, and the sound of someone else breathing-not quite snoring-in the room drew her eyes to the other side of the bed.

Ben’s long body was stretched out on his side, pillow held in place over his face by the thick arm slung over his head. His broad back was facing her, and she blinked, feeling a blush creeping over her cheeks as her eyes traced the faded welts parallel to his spine. She sat up slowly, body protesting the movement, and clutched the sheet to her chest. There were vague reminders of the hours before in the burgeoning ache in places she didn’t know could, and her fingers drifted up to press against her neck and shoulder where she was sure by the tenderness there that she probably had marks she would need to cover. 

Ben was nothing like her previous experiences. He was attentive, exploring and learning her quickly, and determined once he found the right touches to make her come apart under him. The realization was a little bittersweet at just how sorry her experiences had actually been. It also brought to mind how they’d ended, and she bit her lip, glancing at Ben’s sleeping form again. She wasn’t really sure what post-one night stand etiquette was- should she wake him, or just leave? Did people usually have breakfast, or did that just make things more awkward? She knew one night stands were usually alcohol-fueled, but she’d intentionally made sure that was not the case, and neither of them had more than those first drinks when they got to the apartment. 

Rey sighed softly and carefully scooted to the edge of the bed so as to not wake him. Glancing around, her clothes somehow had been tossed to the other side of the room, and his discarded sweater was the closest thing to the bed. She scooped it up and slid it on, goosebumps rising on her exposed legs from the chill in the room. She softly padded over to the bathroom. 

Like the rest of the apartment, it was spacious and minimally decorated. The walls were done in black subway tiles, the plumbing exposed. There was no bathtub, but the shower was big enough to fit a crowd of people and contained more showerheads than any one person should ever need. The plain fluffy white towels were arranged over what looked like a floor-to-ceiling towel warmer between the sinks and shower. A quick, cursory glance in the cabinet mounted to the left of the sinks revealed the basics: a bottle of mouthwash that she debated on using before deciding she didn’t know if he was the kind to use straight out of the bottle or the lid, a toiletries kit that she didn’t open, a pack of toilet paper and a small trashcan. 

She went to the double sinks and paused-the sweater was big on her she glanced at the marks that were indeed on her exposed neck and shoulder. Her tracksuit would cover it fine, she thought. She rinsed her mouth out with water and cleaned up where her makeup had smudged before finger-combing her hair and turning out the light. 

She made her way silently around the room, scooping up her discarded skirt and tank top, and casting about for her underwear before she found them buried under the half of the comforter that had slipped off the bed. She sat down to start getting dressed, and grabbed the bottom of the sweater to pull it over her head when the bed moved behind her and thick arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her back against his chest. 

“Stay.” He grumbled in a voice rough from sleep. 

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “You want me to stay?” 

He cracked an eye open and said “You wouldn’t have slept here if I didn’t.” 

She opened her mouth and shut it again, unsure of how to respond to that. When she didn’t say anything, he turned to look at her. 

“I mean it. Stay...” His fingertips trailed softly up and down her arm, dark eyes finding and holding hers. 

“You don’t have to work?” 

He blinked at her, face blank in confusion for a moment before he frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh...No. Nothing until later.” 

She was about to tease him about forgetting his job when her stomach rumbled embarrassingly loud, interrupting the conversation. Ben sat up, throwing the sheets off, and grabbed his jeans from the floor. He pulled them on and extended his hand to help her up off the bed. 

“C’mon.” 

He led her into the kitchen, where he set her up on the counter and started grabbing bowls and utensils from cabinets and drawers. He slung a dish towel over his shoulder as he cracked eggs into the bowl and whisked them before pouring them into the skillet on the stove. While they cooked, he retrieved a box of mushrooms and an avocado from the refrigerator, tossing the mushrooms in with the eggs and dicing up the avocado. 

Rey sat on the counter swinging her legs like a kid while she picked at the mushrooms on the cutting board next to her and watched Ben move around the kitchen. Usually a one night stand meant creeping out quietly and doing the walk of shame, not having an attractive guy do something oddly domestic like make her breakfast and ask her to spend the day with him. 

As he passed by her on his way back from putting the eggs away, she swung her foot out to block his path. He quirked an eyebrow and grabbed her ankle, his warm hand sliding up her leg as he closed the distance between them. His free hand gripped the back of her head and brought her forward into a kiss. Lips locked together, he slid both hands beneath the baggy sweater and gently cupped her breasts. Rey let out a gasp against his plush lips as his thumbs stroked leisurely back and forth over her nipples. 

“Eggs….are ….gonna burn…” she hummed out between kisses. 

Ben reluctantly pulled away to grab the skillet from the stove and plate two omelettes. He dumped the skillet in the sink and handed her one of the plates. He made a quick stop at the front door for the paper that the downstairs concierge always brought up, which she raised an eyebrow at. Did anyone even read the paper anymore? Ben snorted at her as if that was a dumb question and she followed him into the living room. He turned the tv on and handed her the remote, pulling her legs across his lap as they alternated between comfortable silence and easy ribbing about what to watch. 

It was quite relaxing, with his large, warm hands cupped casually around her knees, and once the plates were cleared, he gathered hers and placed them both on the ottoman, then leaned back and went to work massaging her calves. She let her eyes flutter closed with a sigh. 

Her breath hitched as his hands traveled up, thumbs swirling in the sensitive dip just above her knee on her inner thigh before he started kneading her thighs. She bit her lip and reached up to slide her fingers through the hair that curled at the nape of his neck, a throaty groan escaping her when he ran his knuckles up the tight IT band along her outer thigh. When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her like he was memorizing her every reaction, his hand twisting, reaching beneath the hem of the sweater to grip her hip. 

When his hand slid back down her her knee, it wasn’t to massage, but to apply pressure, his body shifting to bear her back against the leather seat, supporting his weight over her with his elbows. Lean, flat muscles tensed under his touch, and she parted her legs to allow room for his hips. 

Her hand remained on his head, fingers combing through his hair, nails scratching against his neck. He sucked at her skin, nipping at her with his teeth and kissing her until she felt dizzy with it.

He slid his hands up her thighs and hips, flattening his palms over her stomach, feeling it rise and fall as she drew short, unsteady breaths. He moved further up. cupping her breasts under his sweater, squeezing gently, carefully - too gently. Her other hand settled on one of his, pulling it tightly against her. He dug his fingers in harder and she whimpered softly, legs rising, ankles crossing behind his back. Her body rippled under his touch, the hand in his hair shaking.

Just like that, she was wet, a slow seeping warmth that felt as though it started at the center of her and pulsed outward with every touch. She shifted, pulling herself a little closer with a crook of her leg, angling herself a little to the left, and then he was there, steady pressure of a hard ridge covered by rough denim against her swollen, sensitive flesh. She rocked against him, a low sound spilling from her throat, anticipation already a long hot line running up her spine. When she climaxed, it was with a shuddering groan, biting on her knuckle to keep from uttering anything more embarrassing. Ben eased her back down with soft, unhurried kisses. 

“So is that a yes that you’ll stay?” he murmured, reminding her she hadn’t answered him earlier. 

She took a deep breath and laughed. She could feel his smirk against her neck. 

“I...don’t have any clothes,” she said, a little bashful. 

He lifted his head and looked down at her. 

“You don’t need them,” he answered, voice thick. 

With a press of his hips, she was perfectly aware that he was still aroused, and the blush that colored her cheeks at the implication made the corner of his mouth twitch in a smirk. 

“I...I really have to get in a workout before the race.” She said, eyes lowering regretfully. She knew that it sounded like a bullshit excuse to someone who didn’t know the kind of schedule her life and profession demanded, and she was prepared for him to take it as rejection. She didn’t really want to burst the bubble she’d found herself in either, but she was a professional and her work came first. He shrugged as if it was a perfectly normal answer. 

“There’s a gym downstairs. You can use my clothes.” He countered. 

He found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck to scrape his teeth against, and she sighed.

“Okay, okay. I’m convinced. I’ll stay, for a bit.” 

They spent the next hour entwined with each other on the couch, trading kisses, before he sat up with a reluctant sigh. 

"Ready for that workout?" 

Rey nodded and he stood, extending a hand to help her up. She was a little disappointed when she realized he meant the gym.

He dug through a pile of folded clothes in a walk-in closet hidden where she'd thought was a solid wall, pulling out a pair of grey sweatpants and a black undershirt that she could use as a tank top. The sweatpants were far too big, so she rolled them at the waist and the ankles. The undershirt looked like a dress on her, so she gathered the bottom and tied it in a knot to keep it around her hips. She didn’t have shoes, but as long as she could stretch and lift some weights, she was happy with foregoing cardio for a single workout. She caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror on the way by and laughed, but Ben assured her the gym was by reservation only and they would be the only ones there. 

He changed into sweats and an undershirt similar to the one she was wearing, and they headed for the elevator down to the basement.. Rey scanned the room, expected a few weight and cardio machines, not the fully-stocked luxury facility that sprawled out for what looked like the length of the entire basement. Her eyes fell on a padded corner of the room where a dummy was set up. 

“Oh! They built a dojo down here?” She asked, surprised. 

Ben shrugged and glanced at her, taking in the light that had sparked in her eyes. 

“Want to spar?” 

Rey grinned, and something fierce flashed across her face before it was gone as quickly as it came. She headed for one of the yoga mats laid out before a wall of mirrors. 

“You don’t want to fight me.” There was a hint of amusement in her tone that grabbed his attention. 

“Is that so?” 

“I grew up in a junkyard. I don’t fight clean.” She winked at him before she lowered herself to the mat and started stretching. 

“I thought you grew up in foster care.” He said, grabbing a towel from the stocked rack against the wall and slung it over the top of the treadmill he stepped up on. 

She nodded. “Oh I was in the system, but Plutt locked me out of the house more times than not. I’m not actually sure how he ever qualified, really, but I guess the state was desperate for hosts.” 

He started the treadmill at an easy warm up jog, then ramped up to an impressive run. Rey finished her stretching and headed for the leg press machine. They were quiet while they focused on their workouts, and then Ben slowed the treadmill and came to a stop. He grabbed the towel and wiped his face before slinging it around his neck. 

“What kind of fucking foster care locks you out of the house?” He ground out. 

He had a scowl on his face as he went to the mini-fridge by the towel rack and grabbed two bottles of water. He twisted the top off the first and downed it as he handed her the second one. 

“Unkar wasn’t your normal host. He would get angry that I didn’t stick around and lock me out, but it was better to be on the streets than around him.” 

“Why?” He asked, sitting at the bench press. 

“He used to feed me in direct relation to how many parts runs I could make in a day at the junkyard. He was such a creep. I’m pretty sure there was some trafficking or something going on. “ 

“What made you think that?” 

“Kids disappeared. My friend Shalla was one of them, and he knows where she is.” 

“Have you thought about turning him in?” 

Rey nodded. “Plenty of times, but he always told me if the authorities came sniffing around, he’d make sure I never saw her again. I was younger then, I was afraid he’d make me disappear too,” she admitted with a sigh. “Plus, it’s not like I have evidence.” 

Rey blinked and shook her head, realizing she’d been doing most of the talking since..well, the night before. 

“I’m sorry, I’ve just been blabbing, how about you? I don’t know anything about you.”

She thought she saw him stiffen, but then he was lifting the bar out of the notch and her eyes caught on the muscles of his arms and pecs as the weights went up and down and she wasn’t sure if she’d just imagined it 

“There’s not much to know.” He said, dismissive. 

“There has to be something. Were you born here?” 

“Chandrila.” He bit out, and she definitely hadn’t imagined the curt tone. 

She couldn’t see his face from where she was positioned, but something desperately made her want to see what expression was there. 

“That’s a start,” she said, carefully. She let the handles of the lateral pull machine go and stepped up beside the bench press and drained the last of the water in her bottle. 

“What about your family? Are they here or…” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. 

The weight clanged down in the holder and the set of his shoulders was tight as he rose to his full height. The change was immediate and palpable. His expression shuttered closed, his face flashing through a range of emotions before going carefully blank. 

“I don’t talk about my family.” he snapped.

A muscle twitched in his jaw. Rey winced at the sudden venom in his voice and stepped back. For that moment, the person looming in front of her was not Ben, but someone else entirely. 

“Oh. I’m sorry...” Rey said uncertainly. 

She of all people understood family not being a favorite subject, but the strength of the reaction had surprised her. A million things flew through her mind-maybe they’d done something horrible to him, or maybe something terrible had happened to them. 

The fire seemed to leave him then and he blew out a hard breath. 

“My father is dead. I just don’t talk about them.” he repeated before shouldering past her to the punching bag.

Rey swallowed. She wanted to say something else, but something in her warned her against it. The subject was best left alone, it seemed, so she cleared her throat and quickly changed it to something she knew he would talk about: the camaro. 

His mood lightened considerably, the heavy blows to the punching bag that had her cringing turned into light, fast jabs as she completed the circuit of machines and settled against the wall to watch him. 

“Hey,” she said softly, and dark eyes shifted to her. “Maybe you can show me that awesome shower you have?” 

He shifted his stance back and caught the swinging bag before he nodded, balling up his towel and tossing it across the room to land in the basket provided for laundry. 

“Let’s go.” 

His fingertips trailed a blaze of heat down her spine as he fell into step beside her to the elevator. 

The shower was as amazing as it had looked, and she fell equally in love with the heat lamp feature. He fished out a shirt for her to wear, and they spent the rest of the day lazing around in front of the TV. He was easy to draw into intelligent conversation as long as the subject wasn’t himself, and they ordered takeout from one of the menus that filled a drawer in his kitchen. 

It was while they stood at the island, finishing off the last of the sushi, that she caught the time on the microwave behind him, and his head swiveled around to see what she was looking at. She glanced at him and sighed. 

“I should go.” She said.

Ben leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his broad chest. 

“Stay the night.” He said. 

The bashful blush that colored her cheeks when he’d first told her he wanted her to come over was back, and in the low light from the undercabinet lights, it was very flattering on her. 

“This has been great,” she started “but I’ve taken up your day, and I really should get back. I have to be at the track early.” 

Her eyes seemed glued to the counter. 

“Rey.” 

She glanced up and caught his hot gaze. 

“You took up my day because I wanted you to. Take up my night. You’ll have plenty of time to get to the track. I promise.” 

She shifted and bit her lip. The professional in her that followed strict schedules was screaming about what a bad idea that was. She needed to shift out of fun mode and into work mode, but the other part of her, the part that had been so comfortable with Ben all day, screamed something else. That part of her wanted to drag whatever the thing was between them out for as long as possible. He was interesting and piqued her curiosity and being around him felt relaxing and exhilarating at the same time, even when doing nothing but talking. 

There was nothing to say that it couldn’t continue, that she couldn't go about her life and meet up with him later, but nothing had been promised and some part of her felt it was smarter not to ask, in case she got an answer she couldn’t accept. 

But wasn’t he offering a hint? No, she corrected herself. He was offering now. 

Right now, she didn’t want to give him up just yet. 

She nodded.

\---------------------------

 

Rey grasped at the thick waves of dark hair between her thighs, his hold on her legs the only thing keeping her from crushing his head as her body shook and shuddered. She fell back against the pillows with a long, satisfied sigh as the quakes tapered off. Ben trailed kisses up her thighs with plush lips still slick with her release, and when he turned a wolfish gaze on her and started to work his way back down, she grunted and used her grip in his hair to guide him up beside her. 

“We’re not done yet,” he grumbled.

“It’s late,” she groaned. The small digital clock on Ben’s nightstand read nearly two a.m, and she’d literally lost count of how many times she’d come undone under his hands. 

Ben conceded with a roll of his eyes and reached down to yank the sheets up from where they’d bunched up at the foot of the bed and gingerly tucked them around her before turning off the lamp and settling on his side next to her. She rolled against him, his arm settling heavily over her waist. 

She was half-asleep when the thought occurred to her and it was out of her mouth before she could stop it, the words muttered against his broad chest. 

“You should come to the race.” 

It was the stiffening of Ben’s entire body that brought her back to full consciousness, and the accompanying silence brought the realization that maybe she’d misread their entire interaction. She’d harbored no illusions that it was more than a one night stand when she’d agreed to go home with him, but as they’d spent more time together, it had started to feel like it could be more. At least, to her, apparently. 

“You want me there?” He asked, and it was impossible for her to discern the carefully neutral tone that turned it into a statement more than a question.

“I mean, only if you want to,” she scrambled, the words tumbling quickly. “But don’t worry if you’re busy.”

She started to pull away, but his arm around her tightened almost painfully.

“Don’t,” he groaned, and then his grip loosened as if he realized his strength, and his voice softened. “I’ll come.” There was a pause. “But you’re right, it’s late. We should talk later.” 

His tone had a finality to it that let her know he had closed the discussion, but he pulled her even closer to him and his fingers started tracing slow circles where his hand was curled around the nape of her neck. She let it go; he hadn’t said no, and she had the distinct impression that Ben wouldn’t agree to something just to spare her feelings. Her first impression of him had been of his directness, and nothing she’d experienced since had said otherwise. She closed her eyes, slid her arm over his ribs and let the soothing stroke of his fingers lull her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine.  
> As anyone who actually was reading this from the beginning knows, I've struggled with this chapter. Looking at it now, it's hard to imagine why, but it earned itself the title of Cursed chapter. I almost gave up on this thing entirely, but...it's only fanfic right? It's just for fun. You can come say hi over at my tumblr, fatalfascination. :)


	4. Chapter 4

The first waking thought she had was that she was cold, a particular pet peeve of hers, and she reached blindly for the sheets only for the lazy sweep of her hand to come up empty. She cracked her eyes open with a huff and lifted her head to look around. The blackout curtains kept the room decently dark for the size of the window they covered, but there was a bright crack of light peeking around the top at the ceiling that told her that it had to be at least past seven. 

Ben had rolled away from her, taking most of the sheets which were now bunched around his thighs, leaving his broad bare back and butt exposed to her. He would be warm, and she started to slide across the bed to press up against all of his gloriously exposed body when she belatedly wondered how long until her alarm went off. 

She reached for her phone and hit the sleep button, only for nothing to happen. She grumbled something under her breath and held the button long enough for the phone to restart if it had somehow turned itself off. 

Nothing.

It was dead.

With a startled groan, she realized when she’d left the house that it hadn’t had a full charge, and she hadn’t brought her charger. With all the distraction, she hadn’t even thought about it once. 

She jerked up on one elbow and looked over Ben's head to the small travel clock on his nightstand. 

9:23.

She could do nothing but blink stupidly at it. It had to be wrong. She never slept past eight in her entire life, even if she was up late the night before. She was a natural early riser, despite all efforts to change the annoying habit. It just wasn't possible. She scrambled out of bed and scooped up her clothes from where they were piled on the chair. Clutching them to her body and cursing the cold apartment, she dashed to the kitchen to check the microwave clock, her brain just refusing to believe what she was seeing.

9:24.

She had to be at the track at ten. The race didn't start until a little later but there was pre-race inspections she had to be there for. She'd never dressed so quickly in her life, and she was pretty sure her shirt was inside out but she wasn't going to take the time to fix it and no one would notice under her leathers anyway. 

She spared a guilty look toward the bedroom and took a few steps toward the wall divider before halting. She should wake Ben and at least tell him she was leaving, but she wasn’t sure exactly what had been on his mind when he’d said they could talk in the morning and part of her was too chicken to find out. 

She would have texted or called him on the way but she suddenly realized that even if her phone wasn’t completely dead, she didn’t even have his number. As much as her brain was screaming that she didn’t have time, she couldn’t just leave. Biting her lip, she scrambled through the kitchen drawers until she found the one full of delivery menus that they had gone through the night before when they ordered the sushi. It was the only paper she could find, so she grabbed the pen from her bag and hastily scribbled out a note. 

‘Late for race!’ She paused for a moment before adding ‘See you later’ and her number. 

She frowned at it. It wasn’t the classiest thing she’d ever done, ranking it up there with writing her number in lipstick across a bathroom mirror like she’d seen in cheesy movies, but one last glance at the clock told her she had no choice. 

She shoved her phone into her bag and dashed out the door, sprinting for the elevators. 

Rey frantically jabbed at the button for the lobby, hoping that with it being a modern building, there would be some sort of reception or security or something where she could both call a cab and get the address since she realized she had no idea what it was. Her morning was just full of enlightenment of the wrong kind. 

When the doors dinged open, she breathed a sigh of relief to see a baby-faced young man in a security uniform sitting at a reception desk opposite a wall of mailboxes. There was a small bank of screens to his left, feeds from security cameras that must have been placed around the building. There were cameras outside of every apartment door, and she wondered if he’d seen her leave Ben’s. Had he been there to see them go in the night before? 

“I’m sorry to bother you but my phone is dead, could you call a cab?” 

His eyes were comically large as he gave her rumpled appearance a once-over, and she tried to ignore the scrutiny. He nodded hastily, picking up on her rushed demeanor, and leaned forward in his chair to grab the receiver of a desk phone. 

“Certainly, miss.” 

“Thank you,” she leaned forward to catch his name from his security badge, “...Mitaka.” 

She wandered over to the mailboxes, noticing the building only had sixteen slots. Four floors, each tenant had nearly a quarter of the building, which meant each apartment had to be pretty spacious. She wondered at the parts of his apartment she hadn’t seen, since he hadn’t exactly given her a tour. 

It wasn’t more than five minutes before the cab pulled up, and she ran out and started giving directions before she even closed the door behind her. 

 

When the cab pulled away from the curb, she didn’t see the solitary figure gazing down from the fourth-floor window. 

 

After Rey gave the driver instructions and the promise of an extra twenty if they could make it before ten, she pulled her phone out and held the power button again, desperately hoping for some miracle that it would turn on long enough for her to be able to call Finn, then cursing herself that she hadn’t thought to use the desk phone while she was waiting for the cab. 

Rey directed the driver around the service entrance to the track and stuck her head out the window before they could get to the security stop so they would waive them straight in. She quickly spotted where the orange-and-white Starbird symbol on the Organa trailer was and had the driver pull up right next to it.She dug forty out of her bag and handed it to him over his shoulder and barely waited for him to come to a complete stop before she threw the door open and jumped out. She saw Poe storming his way over to her but he stopped when he took in her messy hair and rumpled clothes, the outfit familiar from when he’d left her at the bar.

“Jesus Christ, kid…” He started, but she held up her hand to stop him as they walked quickly to where the mechanic’s trailer and RV were parked.

“I know. Yell all you want after, okay? How much trouble am I in?” 

Poe shrugged, feigning indifference. 

“Well, there was press, so…” He let her draw the inevitable conclusion and that was as far as he got before he shook his head. “Seriously, where the hell have you been? We’ve been calling all over looking for you and I’m sure Finn is probably filing a missing persons report as we speak.”

Rey had the decency to blanch at that. She was so used to being on her own and having no one waiting for her, no one to care if she was gone for days at a time, that she hadn’t even thought of it. 

“Look, I know you can take care of yourself, but you have people who care about you now. Don’t forget that. You can tell me what happened after you race.” He nodded toward the RV before giving her a once-over and a tiny head shake. “You better have a good story.” 

When Rey opened the RV door, Jessika nearly knocked her over as she jumped up and grabbed her in a tight hug. 

“Rey!You’re kriffing alive! You send me a picture of a random car plate, tell me to call the police if I don’t hear from you, then don’t show up and I don’t even hear from you? Don’t you ever do that to me again!” She said through gritted teeth. 

“I’m sorry!” Rey pleaded, squeezing her back.

“Seriously- we called you like a hundred times. You better tell me your phone got lost or stolen or you flung it over a bridge or something.” 

“It died and I didn’t have my charger.” 

“Find a payphone next time!” Jessika sighed and finally took a step back, taking in Rey’s clothes before her eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

“Where were you?” Her eyes lit up when she noticed the blush creeping over Rey’s face. 

“I was uhm...with someone.” 

“Wait, you were with a guy this whole time?” 

The silence that followed while Rey tried to come up with an excuse that didn't sound ridiculous to even herself and failed was all the answer Jessika needed. 

“Oh my god. You were!” Jessika gasped incredulously. Her butt hit the couch as she stared at Rey. 

“You don’t do….that.” She said carefully, then her eyes widened. “Wait, did you...? Were you...?” 

Rey couldn’t have been more uncomfortable, her face on fire. But if she could tell anyone, it was Jessika. Jess, who she’d told things about her street days she hadn’t told anyone else. Jess, who had taken her on her eighteenth birthday to an adult store and hadn’t let her leave until she’d at least bought a bullet vibrator that she still hadn’t ever used. Jessika didn’t need an answer, it was all over the blush that colored Rey’s cheeks and the way she couldn’t quite meet her eyes for too long.

“I don’t. I mean, he’s…..different?” Realizing how cliche that sounded, Rey clammed up. 

“Rey,” Jessika said after a few moments of silence, “Spill it. And you better make it quick. Finn will be back any minute and he won’t be placated about your disappearance with a juicy story like I am. “ 

Rey gulped at having to face Finn, but even more horrifying was the prospect of him walking in and hearing any part of their conversation. 

“I don’t know what happened. We just started talking…..and ended up back at his place.” 

“Are you going to see him again?” 

Rey shrugged. “I invited him to the race, so I hope so.” 

Jess watched her carefully. As long as she’d known her, Rey had gone out of her way to avoid attachment in a relationship. She’d had a few boyfriends that had lasted a few months, but nothing serious, and she had never been one for one-night stands. It just wasn’t her thing, and once she’d started racing, she’d been even more careful about her romantic arrangements. There usually wasn’t anyone around except guys from the track, and she refused to get involved with anyone she might work with. For Rey to run off on a bender with someone meant they must have really been different. 

“Is he boyfriend material?” Jess asked delicately. 

“Maybe? I guess I wouldn’t mind. I mean, it didn’t feel like a casual thing.” 

Jessika mulled that over for a moment. She didn’t want to say it, but Rey’s lack of relationship experience sometimes made her naive, and Jess had already decided she was going to have this guys balls if he was leading her on. 

“Tell me about him, and make it quick.” 

“His name is Ben, and he restores cars.” 

Rey gave a description and was just mentioning Ben’s apartment when Finn burst in, looking flustered and huffing like he’d just run a mile. He caught sight of her and bounded up the RV steps, nearly bowling her over as he threw his arms around her. 

“You’re okay?” he asked wildly, then as if assuring himself, “You’re okay.” 

“I’m so, so sorry, Finn. I’m okay, and I’ll never do that again.” She said. 

“What the hell happened? Where were you?” He demanded, pulling back to look at her like he might find some clue. 

Jessika jumped up from the couch with Rey’s leathers in her hand. 

“I’m sure she’ll be glad to tell you AFTER her press meeting?” She reminded him. He’d been stalling for time until she showed up, pressing her slot back further and further. The other riders had all taken their turn at the table and he couldn’t stall anymore. 

“Right. Ready? I can’t stall them any longer, and if I don’t get a raise for this, I quit.” 

As Rey took her leathers and quickly pulled them up over her wrinkled clothes, Jess winked at her. She made a face and swore as she looked down at her shoes, glad that she kept her racing boots in the bag with her leathers. She didn’t have extra socks, and she was probably going to get some blisters, but at least she’d be able to ride.

Rey spent a few minutes at the conference table letting the press take photos and adjust the cameras for interviews, then apologized for the wait and let them run through their questions while Finn glared daggers at her. They were pretty standard- questions about her last race and her win over Kylo Ren, was she ready for the possible record-breaking win. She was thankful when Finn signaled the end of questions and they went back to the RV. 

She plugged in her phone with Snap’s charger and turned it on. The phone immediately started to buzz with text and voicemail notifications. Her voicemail was full, and as she listened to the beginning of the messages long enough to hear the escalating worry in Jess, Finn and Poe’s voices, she felt her guilt returning. Poe was right, she had been reckless with her friends feelings and as she deleted the last one, she shook her head. 

“Guys, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” she said softly. 

Finn looked up with a frown, ready to jump back down her throat but he stopped when he read the distress on her face. 

“We’re just happy you’re okay, but if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I quit.” 

“If I had a dollar for every time you quit, we wouldn’t have to work,” Jess interjected.

He leveled her a look, but his sarcastic reply was cut short by his phone ringing. He took a look at the caller ID, mumbled something about Leia needing something, and ducked outside. 

Rey scrolled through and deleted the text messages before checking the time and setting the phone down. Although she’d deleted nearly a hundred messages, not a single one had been from an unknown number she would assume was Ben’s. Rey quickly tamped down on the doubt that started worming it’s way into her mind. She hadn’t left the apartment too long ago, and there was a possibility he would come after. He might have thought her too busy during. He would either come, or he wouldn’t, and she would deal with it just like she dealt with everything else. She had a race to win, and as the time came closer, her focus narrowed to just that. 

She headed down with Poe and Wedge to the pre-race inspection tent, stood aside and watched the officials check her bike over. The inspection was routine, and Rey found herself thinking back to her team. She glanced at Poe when his back was turned, thinking of all the hard work he put in, and how she wouldn’t be where she was if it wasn’t for him, and Finn and Jess. She felt guilty about having worried them. She was chewing nervously on her lip when the inspectors gave their approval and they started back to their tent. She was determined to find a way to make it up to them, and she was furiously turning over ways to do that when a thought struck her. She glanced around and found the green-and-white banners of the tent she was looking for. 

“Hey Poe, I’ll be right back.” 

He watched her run across the tarmac to Derek Klivian’s tent and called after her, wondering what she needed from his shop buddy. 

“Make it quick, Rey. You’ve got less than fifteen til line-up.” 

When Derek saw her, he parted from his group and hugged her. 

“Hobbie!” She smiled. “Look, I gotta make this quick but I need a big favor.”

“Sure, what’s up?” 

“I..screwed up big time with some people. You don’t use your lakehouse much, right?” 

He shook his head. “Nah, too busy here.” 

“Would you consider letting me rent it out?” 

He caught his gloves as they were tossed to him by a crewmate and nodded. “Sure.” 

“Thanks. Poe loves it up there. He still talks about it from that trip like, two years ago.” 

“Sure. You have my number? Text me and we can figure it out.” 

“Thanks, Hobbie. You probably just saved my ass. Good luck!” 

“You too, Rey. I don’t usually hope someone beats me, but I hope you get that record.” 

She gave him a quick hug and then the sound of the ten minute warning had her jogging back toward her tent. She took a shortcut, weaving between a couple semis parked nearby. She was already recalling and reviewing the turns of the track in her mind, all focus shifted to getting the job done. 

“Rey.” 

She spun around at the sound of a deep, muffled voice barking her name to find Kylo Ren standing a few yards away. He was close enough that she could see her reflection not in the matte finish of his visor, but in the chrome accent lines that ran above it. She swallowed as she belatedly realized how massive he was. On his bike and at a distance she could tell he was tall, especially in comparison to those around him, but this close, he was tall and broad and thickly built. She took a step back. 

“What do you want?” She asked, eyes narrowing. 

“We need to talk.” He said, as if he’d ever spoken to anyone around the track, let alone her. 

Rey crossed her arms over her chest, remembering Poe’s story and recalling her irritation at the close call at their last encounter. “I’m not sure we do.” 

She was quite sure she had other things to do, and she knew if she didn’t get back to the trailer in the next few minutes that someone would be sent to look for her. It was too close to race time and she needed to be grabbing her gear and heading for the track. She was also entirely sure that the narrow gap between the trucks was not someplace she wanted to be caught alone with someone like Kylo. 

“There’s something you need to know.” He waited silently, as if to see if she had anything else to say, and when she sighed and tilted her head impatiently, he reached up with large hands and slowly slid his helmet off, a familiar pale, long face and crown of thick dark hair coming into view. 

Her feet swayed violently under her for a moment and the air felt like it had been vacuumed from her lungs as her breath stuttered in her chest. She stared at him dumbly, all thought grinding to a screeching halt in her mind as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. 

It was Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter update for you....but here we go! It's about to get spicy. :D Unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine. Come talk to me at fatalfascinaton on tumblr, and comments are like water in the desert. I do welcome respectful concrit as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Race Day!

“Ben?!”

Dark eyes held hers. She was stunned by what she saw there, or rather what she didn't see. There was no guilt or remorse, just a cold, hard detachment that went against everything that had been there just hours before. This was whoever had been there when she mentioned his family.

“ _What…?”_ Her voice trailed off as her mind spun to try to make sense of what was happening. “What the hell?” She repeated, voice rising.

One of Hobbie’s techs, just yards away with a direct line of sight between the trailers, heard her and whistled for Hobbie. He nodded toward them and after trying to figure out what was going on for a couple seconds, Hobbie started their way.

“Rey, don’t.” Ben warned lowly, glancing around pointedly. 

He saw Klivian and his tech watching them and coming closer, and the trailers she’d cut behind were located close to the preparation area for the food vendors and were buzzing with activity just yards away. It would be way too easy to draw unwanted attention.

“Don’t?!” She startled herself at the sheer volume of the word as it erupted from her.

Confusion and disbelief quickly morphed into a fury so _brightwhitehot_ that she couldn’t see straight.

“What bothers you more, that people might see who Kylo Ren is, or that they might hear what an asshole he is?” Rey shot.

If heads had turned before, they were definitely drawing a crowd now, both from the vendor area and from Hobbie’s stall.

His jaw tightened, chin tilting up in defiance, as if he’d been waiting for her anger. Her fury deepened when she realized that _of course he was expecting it_. He’d known exactly who she was when he approached her in the bar. He’d known when his body had sunk into hers, and he’d known when she’d asked him to come to the race he would in fact be competing in, and he’d never said a word.

Humiliation bloomed hot and heavy, curling her gut and pushing the air from her lungs as the heat spread across her face and for a moment, she forgot to breathe. He hadn’t struck her as the type to hook up with someone for bragging rights, nor was he known for being social around the track anyway, but she couldn’t fathom any possible reason he’d lied to her besides trying to deal a professional blow. She thought of all the people he could tell, how the gossip would spread, and within a month- a week!- her entire career, all she’d invested would mean nothing. She’d be reduced to a track bunny, and those associated with her would be laughing stocks.  

“You.” She ground out through clenched teeth.

At her sides, her fingers twitched with the urge to ram her fist into his face. She’d worked too hard for what was about to happen, and she quickly decided it didn’t matter who he was or what they’d done or what he said to anyone, nothing would take it away from her or the people who had helped her get where she was now. He may try to smear her reputation, but her stats on the track would speak for themselves.

“Say whatever you want, it changes nothing.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what–”

“Rey!” Jessika rounded the semi, phone to her ear. When she saw them and the crowd, she hesitated, reading Rey’s tense body language.

“Yeah, I found her, hang on---,” she said to whoever was on the other end before she tucked the phone further under her chin.

“Rey, Poe’s looking for you.” Her eyes flicked to Kylo’s imposing figure, and back to Rey. “Everything okay?”

Rey sighed, but the tension didn’t leave her frame.

“Jess, _this_ is _Ben_.” she flailed a hand in his direction.

He didn’t take his eyes off of Rey to even acknowledge their company, and the singular focus that had been flattering the night before was now just unnerving and infuriating.

Jess’s eyes darted back and forth between them, then settled on the helmet in his hand.

“You’re Kylo…Ren…”Jess quickly put two and two together, her eyes widening. “Oh, shit.”

“And a _liar_.” Rey fumed.

She started to turn away, taking a step toward Jess.

“ _Rey_.” He growled.

Something about his low tone made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She paused, spinning around. Oh, he was angry, brows furrowing as he shook his head. A vicious thrill kicked through her at pissing him off, and if he felt even one fraction of the irritation she did, it still wasn’t enough.  

“Nothing I’ve said to you has been a lie. I told you we needed to talk.”  

Her mouth dropped open, a blistering retort forming, but neither of them had a chance to say anything else, because there was a sudden explosion of activity from behind her, and Poe’s voice rang out louder than she’d ever heard before.

“ _You son of a bitch_!”

Rey spun around to see him stomping toward them faster than she’d ever seen him move, Snap and Myn close on his heels as they tried to catch up to him. Myn managed to grab his arm but Poe jerked out of his hold without breaking his stride or sparing him a look.

Rey looked wildly at Jess, wondering how the hell---then her eyes fell on the phone in Jess’s hand and she realized Poe must have heard everything since she came around the corner. It still didn’t explain how he apparently made the connection, and there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that Jess must have told Poe about their conversation in the RV. She knew Poe had a history with Ben, but even that didn’t explain the level of fury she read coming off of him unless he knew everything.

The echoes of their conversation at the bar suddenly rang out in Rey’s head and her eyes widened.

_Who would have thought Leia’s son would fight so dirty._

Kylo Ren, who was _Leia’s_ son. She’d slept with her boss’s son. Rey groaned, her humiliation exploding into complete and total mortification as hot tears pricked her eyes and she desperately wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.  She bit down on the inside of her cheek until she tasted the coppery tang of blood because she refused to let those tears fall. Not in front of him and not in front of the growing crowd of people.  

Ben finally tore his eyes from hers and fixed them on Poe’s approaching form behind her.

“I had no idea the best mechanic on the track would be joining us.”

His retort was sarcastic and soft, but there was nothing light about the way he said it. His body language changed, becoming more aggressive as his broad shoulders tilted forward and he took a step, widening his stance.

Behind her, Poe again shrugged out of the hold Myn and Snap had secured on him and took another step. Rey looked back and forth between them before she threw out a hand against Ben’s chest. The heat of his body against her palm made her draw her arm back, but she kept her hand held out in a blocking gesture.

“Don’t you dare! I know what you did to him!” she hissed.  

The contact brought his attention back to her, his eyes scanning her face for a moment as he took in her expression before flicking back up to the mechanic.  

Poe made it another few steps before Snap managed to maneuver himself in front of him and get a solid grip on his shoulders, shoving him to a stop yards away from where Rey and Ben stood.

“Poe, not now!” He hissed, then dropped his voice low enough so only he could hear. “Off the track! You see this crowd? Not the time, not the place. You want her kicked out before she gets that record?”

Poe shifted his gaze from Snap to Ben and back. Snap dropped his voice even lower and tilted his head close to his ear, not wanting to take a chance anyone would overhear.

“You wait till this is over, then do whatever you want. _Save. It_.”

Snap wasn’t sure exactly what was going on. One minute Poe had been doing the final last-second check on the bike, wiping down the windscreen while he directed Jess to where he’d last seen Rey, and the next he was chucking the phone in his hand into the trailer wall and stomping off.

Shoving against Snap’s strong hold, Poe could barely think straight, could barely see straight past the red haze that clouded his vision. The one person he’d tried to keep Rey safe from had gotten to her anyway, and he couldn’t remember ever being so furious. When he got his hands on Ben, he was going to beat him until his fists bled and Poe didn’t give a damn who his mother was.

  
  
Unconcerned with the enraged mechanic and growing crowd around them, Ben focused back on Rey.

“Give me time to explain.”

It wasn’t a plea, it was a command and it tweaked everything inside of her wrong, as if he hadn’t already done enough. After everything that had happened, he thought he deserved a single second more of her time? Like anything he said would make what he’d done okay?

Rey decided she’d had enough and stiffened. As far as she was concerned, the entire shit show with Kylo-Ben-whoever-the-fuck-he-was was over. “I’m not giving you anything,” she said, seething.

Hadn’t she already given him _everything_?

She turned on her heels and walked away. She felt everyone's eyes on her back, and it took everything in her not to break into a run and lock herself in the RV bathroom. Jess was close behind her, calling her name, but there was a roaring of white noise in her head that drowned her out as she was battered by waves of humiliation, rage and disbelief. She could feel her eyes burning and took a deep breath as she headed to the trailer. She didn't have time to deal with any of it. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by anything.  

She had a race to win, a record to beat, and it was all she allowed herself to think about.

Wedge was sitting inside, putting away any extra tools they wouldn’t need for the rest of the day and he took one look at Rey’s face and Jessika following her and decided he had business somewhere else.

Rey grabbed her helmet from where Wedge had it set out on the workbench and her gloves and turned to head for her bike.

Jessika stepped in front of her, blocking her, and Rey was forced to stop and look at her.

“Did you tell Poe?” Rey scowled.

Jess’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No.”

Rey gave her a withering skeptical look as she shouldered past her, and Jess spun around.

“No! I swear. I just told him that you might be expecting someone named Ben. That’s it.” she pleaded.

Rey stopped and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly through her nose to calm herself. For security and insurance reasons, strangers weren’t allowed to just wander around their set-up, and it made perfect sense that Jess would tell him and probably Finn. It was something Rey should have done herself, but she’d been so caught up in everything she’d forgotten to tell them.

Rey turned to her and laid a hand on her arm, her voice much softer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Jess tilted her head and gave her a sympathetic look. Rey knew she meant well, but sympathy felt like pity and it just reminded her of how she’d allowed herself to be screwed over.

“Look…,” Jess started in on what Rey suspected was a speech about how none of it was her fault, how everyone made mistakes and guys weren’t supposed to do asshole-ish things like that.

Rey quickly shook her head and cut her off.

“I _really_ don’t want to talk about it.” She said firmly, voice both pleading and warning.

Jess sighed. “Okay.” She shrugged, then repeated herself more firmly when Rey glared at her. “Okay.”

Rey swung her leg over the bike and settled into her seat as everyone else stormed back into the trailer.

Poe took in Rey’s shaky hands as she fired the bike up and grabbed her helmet from the top of the gas tank.

“Rey, are you okay?” He started to approach her but Jess frantically waved at him and shook her head.

“I’m fine, Poe.” The reply was slightly muffled as she positioned her helmet and secured the straps, but there was no mistaking the short, curt tone or the slight waiver to her voice. She was clearly not okay. Poe shrugged off Jess’s warning and reached out to cover her hand where it rested on the handbrake.

“I’ll kill him,” he growled.

Her free left hand came up to snap the visor open. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she was frowning at him and there was no mistaking the anger there either.

“Poe! I really can’t right now,” she snapped.

She took a deep breath that almost pitched into a sob and she knew he heard it and it made her even angrier. “The next thing I hear better be about _this_ bike or _that_ track, or you’re fired. Got it?”

She pointedly jabbed a finger at the gas tank and in the direction of the track for emphasis.

She was one hundred percent sure she’d never fire anyone on her team, and she was one hundred and fifty percent sure everyone knew that, but she was so furious and so flustered and trying very hard to focus on what was most important that one wrong word would destroy the shaky foundation she currently stood on.

Track. Bike. Race. Win. She wouldn't, _couldn’t_ think about anything else.

Poe looked at her for a long moment, stunned at the fact she’d raised her voice to him but reading straight through her threat like she knew he would, and nodded.

“Yeah, alright.”

She snapped the visor shut and he let her go as she rolled down the ramp and started toward the track.

They followed her in silence, and when Rey rolled into the pole position, she went alone. As she waited for everyone to line up behind her, Rey closed her eyes and took deep breaths. She already didn’t feel right-her late start meant she hadn’t had the opportunity to walk the track, and Myn had taken her warm-up rounds, so she hadn’t been able to run it either. It had been a while since she’d raced the D’Qar course, and there was a particular set of turns that were not her favorite.

The late start had thrown off her whole routine. She ate particular meals at particular times on race days, and made sure she was plenty hydrated and well rested, and all of that had gone out the window. Of course, because of _him_. Maybe that's exactly what he wanted. The wave of sheer embarrassment and humiliation rose up again, making her nauseous and threatening to pull her under. She gritted her teeth against it, kicking the heel of her boot against the asphalt until it hurt. She made herself focus on the track, the turns in her memory, and nothing else.

Track. Bike. Race. Win.

She gave the BB-8 it’s customary pat and pointedly did not think about dark waves, strong hands or a deep voice.  

When the light turned green, Rey shot off, and she fell into a pattern, focusing only on the next few yards in front of her, on the pull of the G forces through the turns. It took longer than usual but she finally found herself slipping into the instinctual focus that took over when she rode. The high-pitched whine and vibration of the bike filled her senses and blissfully wiped out everything else.

There were twenty laps for the D’Qar track, and she stayed at a comfortable lead for twelve laps before Hobbie pushed close through a turn and took the lead. As she worked to gain the lead back, she felt someone nudge a knee against her around a corner and turned her head to see the red and black Hayabusa inch forward as she immediately leaned to the other side through the sharp right-left-wide right-wide left combination of turns. She bit off a swear, her zen bubble completely and irrevocably broken.

He came up again on her right, and she found herself intentionally hugging the turns a little tighter, closing any opening he thought he was going to make. If he thought they were going to have a repeat of the last race, he was dead wrong. If he wanted to push her out this time, he would have to hit her.

He wasted no time pacing her, instead he recklessly floored the bike so hard coming out of a turn into the straightaway that his front tire lifted as he shot past her.  Rey could only watch him in a sort of stunned disbelief as he overtook Hobbie as well within moments.

No. No, no, no.

She had worked too hard and come too far just to have that jumped-up track monkey take it from her. After everything else, he was still trying to screw her over. All of the humiliation she’d already suffered and he wanted to steal her win as well? A wave of pure fury crashed through her, sending her heart beating wildly against her ribcage and she flattened herself against her bike, the needle on her speedometer gauge inching up.

She overtook Hobbie and caught up to Ben within two laps. It was just the two of them for the rest of the race, having gained at least a five second lead.

There were six laps left, and Rey rode right behind Ben. She stayed with him on the straightaways and turns, waiting for the opening he was sure to leave.

It was on the next lap that she thought she saw it.  Leaning to the right, she was on his outside, front tire just inches from his back tire. Cutting tighter than she ever had through a turn, she took the chance, pumping her brakes only for a second to drop directly behind him before accelerating through the turn on his inside. Her tire hit the edge of the track, her turn just a fraction too tight.

At her speed, the minute difference in ground texture and level made the bike difficult to control. On a straight track, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but with the bike already at an extreme angle for the turn, it made it more unstable. There was a long moment where she held her breath and struggled to correct the bike, the violent jerk of the handles sending shockwaves up her arms, and then the front tire went out and the entire body of the bike was flung violently to the side.

The next thing she knew, she was airborne and the red-and-white striped boundary of the track and the grass field beyond were rushing toward her at an alarming speed.

There was a sharp explosion of pain as her leg made impact, then she was rolling. She threw out an elbow and righted herself as she continued to slide across the grass, her chin tucked to keep her head off the ground and let her back armor and leathers take the brunt of the slide. She came to a stop and rolled slowly to her hands and knees, eyes focused on the asphalt in front of her as she waited for the world to stop spinning and the buzzing in her ears to clear.

When everything swam back into focus, she sat up slowly. She scanned the track, eyes searching for…

 _No_.

Her bike lay in a mangled heap, pieces of it trailing in it’s wake as it flipped end-over-end before smashing into the track retaining wall. She groaned, knowing that for her, the race was over. Unable to contain her awareness about how _wrong_ everything suddenly was, Rey struggled to control herself. Panic and rage bubbled in her, her heart still hammering at a ridiculous pace in the cage of her ribs, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. The short, shallow breaths she took fogged up her visor, and she ripped off her helmet in desperation for fresh air.

How had a day that was supposed to be so good gone so sideways in so many ways? Her pride, her dignity, her record...gone. All because of _him._ A singular stupid, impulsive decision had wrecked her entire day, possibly her entire career.

With a groan, she pulled herself up in a desperate attempt to not give up. She pitched forward, almost crashing to the ground again as she drew her left leg under her. She tried, gingerly, to put her weight on it and swore when pain lanced through her body.

She could see the track ambulance headed toward her and she stood there lamely, unable to even walk herself out to meet it. The next few minutes passed in a blur, paramedics surrounding her and asking her questions. She remembered telling them it was her leg, and no, nothing else seemed to be broken. She was helped to the gurney where they strapped a neck brace and an oxygen mask on her, concerned about her rapid breathing and shock. There was a release of a pressure she hadn’t even realized was there when they cut her leathers open to check her leg, then the ambulance was rolling and they were applying a splint. Rey was vaguely aware that she was babbling the entire time about the race and how she had to get back to it, that she couldn’t possibly break her streak, and that her crew should be there any minute with the back-up bike. The voices around her became a hum, the the fuzzy shadows on the edges of her vision suddenly grew worse, tunneling her vision until her world went black.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me. ;)  
> beta'd by the awesome The-Dark-Becomes-You. She saved all of you from a nasty trashfire. As always, I lovelovelove your comments and thoughts. You can come say hi- I'm fatalfascination on tumblr. Thank you for reading!


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